Return To Riverdale
by fandomgeek312
Summary: The only trace of her existence was old yearbooks and pictures in the back of forgotten photo albums. The only memory left of her life in Riverdale was stories, told to children before bed, about the most incredible person their parents had ever met. Until she comes home. [SEASON 3 SPOILERS]
1. Chapter 1

Things get lost over time, like Riverdale's normalcy after the murder of Jason Blossom. Or someone who left, who was only remembered in the minds of the parents of Riverdale, whose only trace of existence was old yearbooks and pictures in the back of forgotten photo albums. Memories became stories, with truths twisted and told before children were tucked into bed. Even the stories would be vaguely remembered yet still told by one generation to the next, again and again until it no longer resembled the truth. At least, such would be the case if the inspiration for the original stories didn't walk right back into Riverdale.

The young girl with the red and black hair had grown up, in a way nobody had expected. The bright colour in her hair was gone, as were the piercings that littered her face. Dark, baggy clothes were replaced with a form fitting outfit, showcasing the figure she hid as much as she could during her teenage years. The only visible remains of her Riverdale past were her old southside serpent jacket and tattoo, kept to remind her of home while she was on the road.

She had no reason to come home until then, after she found out about the strange goings-on in Riverdale recently. It started with a simple trip to Chicago, where she ran into Molly and the redhead spilled everything that went wrong over the last year. Clifford Blossom murdering his own son, Hal Cooper becoming the serial killer: "The Black Hood", then her son being sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. What was happening to Riverdale? It was no longer the town you left, your home.

"Excuse me," A young girl said, dressed in the yellow waitress uniform. A uniform she once wore when she worked at Pop's in summer.

"I don't want to order anything else, I'm all set." She said, nodding to her vanilla milkshake.

"Actually, I was going to say I recognise you from somewhere. And I know, for one, that you're not from here." The girl stated, studying her face closely for anything that would make her realise. "I'm Veronica, welcome to Riverdale."

"That would be a 'welcome back'." She said, shaking Veronica's outstretched hand. "I'm actually from Riverdale, I just got back in town. Shae Lucas, by the way."

A thoughtful look crossed Veronica's face, before her eyes widened and she sat on the opposite side of the booth. "Did you go to school with Hermione Lodge?"

"So, she ended up marrying Hiram." Shae said, sipping from her milkshake which tasted better than she remembered. "Yeah, I knew Hermione and Hiram. Your mom-"

"I didn't tell you they were my parents yet."

Shae gave her a sly smile. "You look at lot like your mom when she was a teenager. That was when she and I were really close, back when she was dating Fred."

Veronica's eyes lit up, glad to hear more information about this stranger her parents spoke so highly of. "You knew Mr Andrews?"

"Look, I'm not gonna try hiding things like that." She said, noticing the gleam in the ponytailed girl. "It's a small town, people talk. I knew Fred, Alice, Sierra, Tom, FP, even Penelope and Clifford."

"Clifford Blossom's dead, Ms Lucas." Veronica told her, without much care after what he did when he was alive.

"Good riddance, after he murdered his son." Shae scoffed, even colder than Veronica. "Molly, Fred's ex-wife, told me everything. It's why I came back. I might not have seen Fred in years, but we grew up together and I'll be damned if I'm not there for him while his son's in jail."

This elicited a sad smile from Veronica. "Good, we could use all the help we can get to get Archie back out. You should go see everyone, tell them you're back." With a quick glance over Shae's shoulder when the bell above the door sounded, Veronica stood back up. "Or, maybe you won't have to. Mr Keller!"

A man turned around to look in their direction, grey hair and a face full of wrinkles, but he was still the Tom she remembered. Shae was unable to duck down once she glanced over, because his gaze had met hers and he would realise if she was hiding and avoiding him.

"I believe you have someone to talk to." Veronica said, walking back behind the counter and leaving old friends to catch up.

Shae hesitantly stood up, too many thoughts racing through her mind as she realised she didn't think this far ahead. What would she say to him? How would he react? Did he want her back? Would he care? These questions were all expelled from her mind when she reached a close enough distance where he could pull her in for a bone-crushingly tight hug.

"What are you doing here?" He asked softly, not yet letting her go.

"I heard about everything, including Archie. I couldn't stay away, especially not after thinking what Fred must be going through." She told him, head resting on his shoulder and, just for a moment, they were teenagers again: embracing like they did in school hallways, when one of them was having a bad day and needed comfort. "I missed you, Tommy. You were meant to call."

"So were you. But that doesn't matter now." He said, stepping back a bit to look her in the eye. "You're back now, that's all that matters. You look amazing."

"And you got old." She teased, with a smirk plastered onto her face.

"We're the same age, dumbass." He replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, it doesn't look like it."

They both took seats at the bar, where Veronica was wiping down the counter in eavesdropping proximity. Except, there was no need. Both adults told her stories of the stupid things they did as teens, including some of the other Riverdale parents like Alice, Hermione and FP.

"Speaking of FP, he should be here soon." Tom looked at Shae, who shifted uncomfortably and suddenly found the countertop very interesting.

"Wait, was there some history with FP?" Veronica looked at Tom for conformation.

"We dated in high school, then we broke up and stayed friends." Shae said in a very thought out manor, making Tom receive a slap upside his head for his eyeroll.

"That's what everyone says, what about the real gossip?" The young girl asked, leaning closer in interest.

"There's no gossip." Shae assured her.

"If he the reason you became a serpent?" She asked, having obviously taken note of the jacket and exposed tattoo on her collarbone.

"No, actually I was the reason he became a serpent." The woman said, hesitant to admit whatever deeper connection she had with FP in the past. "He came with me to the Whyte Wyrm, saw this big community that was like a family and he liked it. So much that he became a serpent, which his dad hated and blamed me for."

"I remember that. The day after he got kicked out, he came to school still drunk from the night before." Tom said in a more serious tone than all the other stories they recounted.

"He always drank when he was too overwhelmed and doesn't know what else to do." Shae said, remembering nights when she had to physically restrain him from grabbing another drink.

One memory spilled into another, then another, then another. Happy memories of her time with FP when he was still her boyfriend, but she also had fun with him when they weren't together. Right? Come to think of it, she couldn't remember a time spent in Riverdale when she and FP weren't a couple. It's as though they broke up then she left, which she knows isn't what really happened. They were friends for a while before she left, months even. But she couldn't pick out a single memory of that time.

"Shae?"

She hadn't heard the bell above the door, or the footsteps approaching behind her. But she damn well heard his voice, he couldn't ignore it if she tried. Sure enough, FP was stood behind her when she turned around and met his tired eyes. He looked significantly older, with a beard covering his lower face to match his matured look. Shae all but fell into his arms, letting him hold her smaller frame close to his. He wasn't significantly bigger than her, but he always managed to envelop her completely when he hugged her.

"I missed you, so much." She mumbled into his shoulder, just loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm right here, and I don't plan on letting you go anytime soon." He said, equally as quiet.

To Veronica, it looked like a reunion of two lovers. To Tom, it didn't fill him with any hope that they would get back together. They'd always been close, even before they were anything more than friends. Of course she'd get very emotional when she saw him again, ex-boyfriend or not.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Fred entered the Chock'lit Shoppe, the 3 friends were sat solemnly with Veronica working close by. All of them were worried, even Shae who had never met the poor boy before. In fact, she was worried about all of them. It was a small town, where everybody knew everyone else. So, everyone knew that football playing, boy-next-door-type Archie was innocent. But it also made everyone lose faith in Riverdale that bit more, because he was arrested and in a juvenile detention centre. That's why this time, Shae didn't hesitate to pull Fred into a hug as soon as she saw him. He was the reason she came back, so she could comfort him and help him through such a difficult time.

"Why are you back?" He asked, looking at her in disbelief as though she was a hallucination he made up in this time of pain.

"Molly told me everything, I wanted to be here for you." She told him, squeezing him slightly in another hug so he knew she was real. "And from the looks of it, everyone else as well."

"Thank you." He said softly, before pulling away and sitting at the counter with everyone else. "I just got off the phone with the warden, he said Archie's been processed and he's just fine."

"Thank god." Veronica sighed in relief, a hand over her heart.

"I've also got a line on the three thugs that gave false testimonies against Archie." Fred told them, resting a hand over Shae's clenched fist.

"I'm friends with the sheriff in Shadow County, they found the remains of a campfire deep in the woods." Tom said, in turn making a flash of anger pass over Veronica's face.

"Archie's in jail and they're camping?" Veronica looked disgusted, which was entirely reasonable and expected.

"Not for long." Shae assured, locking eyes with FP who nodded slightly in silent agreement.

"Well until he's released, I'll keep everything in order at Riverdale High, so everyone knows my Archiekins will be back by homecoming." Veronica said with as much certainty as she could muster, though there was a slight hesitation in her voice.

* * *

As Veronica suggested, Shae decided it would be best to visit Alice and tell her she was back. As much as they had their ups and downs, she was still her friend and deserved to know she was back. That is, until FP caught her outside Pop's.

"Shae, I need to talk to you. Molly couldn't have told you everything, things happened with the serpents that you need to know about." FP told her, a note of desperation in his voice. "There's things I did that you need to know about."

Shae turned to look at him, studying his face for a moment. "Where's your jacket?"

"I'm not a serpent anymore. I retired." He told her. "You left, I didn't. I stayed with the serpents instead of going to college, I only left when I joined the army. Then I came back and became a serpent again and-"

"You joined the army?" Her face was pale, eyes wide as she stared at him in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me? You could've died!"

"I know, but I didn't." FP said, pulling her close to him in her state of shock and sadness. "Can we go somewhere private, there's still so much I want to tell you."

With a nod, Shae regained her nerve and hopped onto her motorbike. It was muscle memory as she rode with FP down to the place they always went when they needed to talk, somewhere they spent a lot of time when they were teenagers desperate to get away for a moment of privacy together. The roads were empty, leaving room for them to ride alongside each other and pretend, for only a moment, they were still the teenagers messing around together without thought or consequence.

They finally stopped on the side of the road, on the banks of Sweetwater river. FP got off his bike, staring at the river with an expression she couldn't place as she swung one leg over to sit sideways on her own parked bike. Without a word, FP reached out a hand for her which she took without a thought. He pulled her in front of him, still holding her hand and subconsciously rubbing the back with his thumb.

"Right over there," He pointed to another section of the riverbank, right at the edge of the water. "That's where Jason Blossom's body was dumped. I know because I'm the one who dumped it."

If he thought she paled earlier, it was nothing compared to the sheet white colour of her normally tanned skin. "FP, what are you talking about?"

"I had to dump the body, I had no choice." FP said, in a shaking voice.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked quietly, unsure of if she should be scared or not. But why should she? She trusted him, he was still the same person he was when they were young. He still wouldn't hurt a hair on her head.

"Because that's the way it was when we were young." He said, making her turn around to look her in the eye. "We were such good friends because we told each other everything, there were absolutely no secrets between us whatsoever. I want it to be like that again, I don't want all that time we were apart to change the fact that we're best friends."

"FP, that time doesn't change anything. Don't you ever think that it will." She assured him. "Now, about the serpents."

"Penny Peabody is gone, but there's been tension with the Ghoulies and…"

* * *

After getting the update from FP about the southside, Shae no longer had any reason to avoid going to see Alice. Which is how she found herself hesitating on the doorstep of the Cooper household, quickly knocking on the door so she couldn't run away and put it off any longer. Except, it wasn't Alice who opened the door, but a young woman who looked extraordinarily like her. Although, assuming she was Alice's daughter, it probably wasn't very extraordinary.

"Is Alice Cooper home?" Shae asked, fiddling with her hands nervously behind her back.

"Yes, come in." The young blonde said. "I'm Polly Cooper, who are you?"

"Shae Lucas, I'm an old friend of your mom." Like Veronica, Polly's eyes lit up at the mention of her name.

"Mom should be down in a few minutes, make yourself comfortable." Polly insisted, walking over to the cribs set up by the couch.

"Are they yours?" Shae asked, walking only slightly closer as she tried not to push herself into Polly's life.

"Yeah," She smiled at her babies, gesturing for Shae to move closer. "This is Juniper," she gestured to her baby girl. "And this is Dagwood."

"I heard about Jason." She said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you." Polly said, smiling warmly at her again. "But his murderer was found, he's dead now and Jason can rest in peace."

As soon as footsteps sounded, coming down the stairs, Shae took a step back and looked to where her old friend was. Alice looked as though she'd seen a ghost, eyes wide and mouth opening and closing as she tried to find words.

"Mom, Shae came over to see you." Polly said, assisting her mother who looked as though she might faint.

"Alice, I just thought I should come over to talk to you." Shae said, sitting on the couch with the two blonde women. "I ran into Molly in Chicago, she told me all about Jason Blossom, about what Hal did, and what was happening to Archie Andrews."

"So, you're here for Archie?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow. "A boy you've never even met before because you left Riverdale."

"I left because I needed to grow, in a way I couldn't if I stayed here. I needed to travel, it's done me so much good." Shae insisted.

"And here you are dressed 10 years younger than you really are." Alice scoffed.

"How I'm dressed shouldn't matter." The serpent defended. "I came back to Riverdale because a friend was going through something. I wanted to be there for Fred, to help with what he's going through. I swear, if only you'd called me after what happened with Hal, I would've come then. But I'm here now to listen, if you want to talk about it."

Alice didn't say anything for a while, thinking about who knows what. But, if what Shae said didn't help, she would've been asked to leave by now. "I have another daughter, Betty. She's dating FP's son, Jughead. They solved Jason's murder, they found out Hal was the Black Hood. She's very clever, sometimes too much for her own good."

Shae smiled, listening to Alice talk about Betty and Polly. She stayed when Alice started crying about her husband, offering a tissue and a shoulder to cry on. She told them stories about the places she's been, Polly told her bedtime stories Alice made up about her. Because they didn't forget, parent and child still remembered about Shae Lucas, whether they remembered her from their past or as a figment of their imagination come to life.


	3. Chapter 3

Shae found herself in the Whyte Wyrm, sat at the bar and nursing a beer in her hand. A few familiar faces came over to speak to her, including Hog-head, who could remember when she first set foot in the Wyrm before she was even a serpent. Then a girl with black and pink hair approached her, stood on the opposite side of the bar.

"So, if you're a serpent, how come I've never seen you around before?" She asked, looking at Shae curiously.

"I went to college, travelled around afterwards. Just got back in town today." Shae replied and took a swig of beer, knowing that this would turn into a full conversation.

"And why did Hog-eye call you the former queen?" She inquired, leaning over the bar slightly as she grew more and more interested in the stranger.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Toni Topaz."

"Well, Toni, have you heard of FP Jones?" Shae watched as Toni's eyes doubled in size. "He became the serpent king when he was a senior and, since I was his girlfriend, he made me his queen."

"You always were, weren't you?" Byrdie laughed, taking a seat next to Shae. "God help anyone that disrespected his queen."

Shae rolled her eyes, fishing out her ringing phone and stepping outside to answer the call. "What is it, FP?"

" _I got a call from sheriff Minetta."_

"…And he's the one who was hired by the Lodges?" Shae asked, having wracked her brain for the name.

" _He said Jughead snooping around a hospital room, Ben Button's hospital room."_

"Who's Ben Button?"

" _The boy Jughead found Fox forest, with blue lips, who's in a coma now."_

"Blue lips?"

" _Alice called me to say she got the same phone call about Betty. I'm on my way to her house, can you meet us there?"_

"Yeah, I'll be there soon."

Shae walked quickly back into the Wyrm, downing the rest of her beer and paying without a word. Nobody heard what was said in that phone call. If they did, they wouldn't know what it meant, as least to her. She rode as quickly as she could, taking every shortcut she could remember to get there as fast as possible. If what FP told her was true, she was going to get much more than she bargained for when she decided to come back to Riverdale.

When she ran into the house, she saw Alice and FP already sat inside. They looked just as shaken up and distraught as she did, which only made her worry even more. If Alice knew and believed as well, that was just more confirmation of what they already thought.

"Is it true?" Shae asked, taking a seat with them in the living room.

"Yes." Alice said, scaring herself with the certainty before adding "Maybe."

"It probably is." FP mumbled thoughtfully. "Unless we can find another way to explain all of this."

Alice seemed desperate to find another logical explanation that wasn't exactly what they were all thinking. "Maybe-"

"There isn't anything else it could be." Shae cut her off, in a monotone voice. "At least, not one that makes sense. All we can do is hope we're wrong, then stop Betty and Jughead from getting too close to it in case we're not."

So, they sat in silence, weighed down by the thought of 'what if'. What if they were right? What if they couldn't stop Betty and Jughead? What if it kept getting worse? What if more people die because of it?

Finally, two teenagers walked into the house. Betty looked very similar to Alice and Polly, with blonde hair and a fair complexion, even opting for brighter, softer colours which contrasted greatly with Jughead. She knew he was a serpent, even though he wasn't wearing his jacket. He wore the trademark dark clothing of a serpent, with a grey beanie also covering his jet-black hair, similar to FP's when he was a teenager.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Jughead asked, before taking notice of Shae stood with the two parents. "And who's this?"

"Shae Lucas." She said, calming the shake that threatened to spill into her voice.

"You're the person mom told us about." Betty said, obviously referring to Polly when she said 'us' since she also reacted the same way earlier that day.

"And a serpent legend, you're incredible." Jughead said, which would've made her smile or laugh given different circumstances.

"Never mind that, Sheriff Minetta called." Alice said, pulling the attention back to the issue at hand. "He said you two were snooping around Ben's hospital room."

"Jug, what were you thinking?" FP asked him son.

"There's something strange going on, I know it." Jughead defended. "Dilton even came to see me for help, you were there when he did. I feel like I owe it to him."

"You don't owe him anything!" FP shouted at his son, a tone Shae never heard him use even when she'd fought with him.

"As for you, Betty, this is exactly what Dr Patel was referring to. If you keep up this stressful behaviour, you'll have another seizure." The tone changed completely after Alice said this, with Jughead looking at Betty for confirmation, but Alice took no notice as she pointed the finger to Jughead. "And this is because you keep dragging her into these murder investigations."

Betty snapped, running up the stairs, which Jughead attempted to follow her up. However, Alice held her arms up, blocking the staircase and stopping him from seeing her. "FP!" she called, to which he replied and pulled Jughead back.

The ex-serpent locked eyes with her for a split second when she gestures with her head for him to take Jughead, she would probably need to stay to talk to Alice about what she just did anyway. So, FP took Jughead to the door, saying they were going to go home.

Once the door closed, Alice looked deflated as she took a seat on the sofa. It wasn't her place to tell, she knew Betty should've been the one to say something. But it was fine if she didn't know Betty didn't tell Jughead, right. Alice certainly hoped so.

"I really thought he knew, Shae." Alice said, with her head in her hands.

"I believe you," Shae said, sitting next to her. "Betty will realise that soon enough, she'll forgive you for it."

"You're being so nice." Alice said, looking up at her.

"I know we didn't always get along, but we made up before I left." Shae said in confusion. "Why wouldn't I be nice?"

"It just makes me feel bad about keeping this from you, but I did something horrible." Alice confessed. "It was after you and FP broke up, when you were still in Riverdale and we still weren't friends. Me and Hal had a fight, I went to FP and we spent the night together."

"How long after we broke up?" Shae said in a hollow voice.

"About a week, he was drunk and upset, and it just happened." Alice admitted, "I'm so sorry."

"Did you at least…." She bit back tears and trailed off when she saw the blonde shake her head.

"I got pregnant, gave birth, put our son up for adoption." Alice said, now welling up. However, Shae couldn't care less as she listened to it. "When he grew up, he came looking for me. I sent his away, then he died. I'm so sorry, Shae, I really am."

The serpent wasn't listening to apology, she didn't want to hear the apology. "That's why you didn't like me, because I was going out with FP. It's why you became a serpent, it's why you went up to him after you did the serpent dance. I'm going to Fred's, don't come over."

With that, Shae walked over to the house next door. It wasn't until Fred opened the door for her when she completely broke down in sobs. Fred asked no questions, he only comforted her as much as he could. He sat with her on the sofa, hugged her until she stopped crying.

"Alright, what happened?" Fred asked, once she was in a fit state to talk about it.

"Alice slept with FP." She said, sniffling a little. "Only a week after we broke up."

"Did he tell you about it?" Fred asked, a nagging suspicion that Alice would've bragged about it in the past but wouldn't have dared say it after they became friends.

"Alice started getting upset about it, probably making her feel guilty now that I'm back." Shae said, trying to put on a proud smile.

"He doesn't know you know about it?" Fred asked, prompting her to shake her head against him shoulder.

"He said earlier he doesn't want there to be any secrets." She told him. "He told me about what he did to Jason, but he couldn't tell me that."

"Are you staying in his trailer?"

Shae squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the most important thing she needed to do and the one thing she forgot about. "No, can I stay here?"

"Absolutely." Fred said, preparing to get up. "I'll call Pop's and put down an order."

"Tell him I'll have my usual." She said, with a genuine smile on her face for the first time that evening.


	4. Chapter 4

Fred's truck pulled up outside of Pop's, letting Shae get out and walk into the diner to pick up their order. The roles had quickly been reversed, and she hadn't been in Riverdale for longer than a day. She came there to help him, but with the news she'd received, it was her going to him to seek out comfort. And there was nothing better to comfort her than Pop Tate's food.

"The food's going to be ready in a minute, Shae." Pop told her, with a smile on his face even in the late hours of a presumably long day.

"Thanks, Pop."

Looking around the diner, she saw only a sparse scattering of people through the diner. The few of them were sat alone, except two teenagers sat in a booth together. When she glanced at them for a second time, she was able to identify them as Betty and Jughead. After what happened at the Cooper house, her heart dropped seeing them out so late and in conspicuously dark clothing.

"What are you two doing here?" She found herself asking, stood beside their booth with her arms folded over her chest.

"Miss Lucas." Betty said, smiling at her politely. "Me and Jug were just talking about my seizure, he got really worried and we decided we should talk about it in person as soon as possible."

"Just Shae. And I should really tell your parents." Her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth, before deciding against it. "But, if this really was just about that, then I suppose there's no harm in keeping it to myself."

Both teens were visibly relieved, which only made Shae look at them suspiciously. However, she knew how Alice was and how FP would be when he was angry and worried. Alice would easily get him riled up and angrier than he otherwise would be, which she didn't want him taking out on Jughead.

"Shae." Jughead looked at her with some sort of admiration, which she saw as she turned back right after she had prepared to leave the pair to themselves. "Are the stories about you true?"

Shae gave him a smirk. "Everything you've heard is most likely true."

"Even what happened with the ghoulies?" The young serpent asked in awe, to which she nodded proudly.

"What happened with the ghoulies?" Betty asked, looking between the serpents with intrigue clouding any confusion in her expression.

"This was before I joined the serpents." Shae told her, leaning against the side of the booth. "I'd been hanging around the Whyte Wyrm for a while, a few weeks tops. One night when I was walking around the southside, I saw a few young serpents being ambushed by a huge group of ghoulies."

"They said you fought them and helped the serpents escape." Jughead told her, making her laugh.

"Not exactly." She denied. "They saw me and started coming after me. I had the chance to run and escape, but I punched the guy instead. Somehow, I got away with the other serpents. Some of them had broken bones and could barely walk, I was lucky to get away with cuts and bruises."

"Did they make you a serpent for it?" Betty asked, now looking at her with a sliver of the admiration Jughead did.

"Some of them wanted to, some said I proved I was strong enough to do the trials. All the others said I still needed to do the serpent dance, whether I did the trials or not, because I was still a woman." She shook her head, remembering the night with happiness and bitterness. "So, I did all of it. The trials because I wanted to, the dance because misogyny dies hard."

Jughead knew he wouldn't be able to understand why she wanted to do the trials, but he definitely could respect it. In fact, she knew that as well. He was FP's son, after all, and FP had a hard time wrapping his head around it. He'd always said that, had he been a serpent before her or even known what she was going to be doing, he would've made sure she didn't have to.

"Here's your food, Shae." Pop said, handing her the take away bags with the same smile he gave her since she was a child eating there with her parents. "You and Fred enjoy."

"Always do." She gave the old man a sweet smile and straightened up, preparing to leave the Chock'lit Shoppe.

"You're staying with Mr Andrews?" Jughead asked, in a tone she couldn't place. "Dad thought you were staying at the five seasons after you didn't come to the trailer. I guess he assumed you would be staying with us."

"Well, you can tell him I'm at Fred's and I'm just fine staying there." She told him, in a cold tone that sounded harsher than she wanted since she was addressing Jughead and not FP directly.

* * *

The next morning, Shae woke up in Fred's bed with no recollection of how she got there. The last thing she remembered was lying down on the couch, which apparently didn't sit well with her friend. He did this when they were teenagers, waiting until she fell asleep to move her into his bed because she wouldn't have accepted it if she was awake.

"Seriously Fred, I thought you would've grown out of this act by now." She said when she went downstairs, seeing Fred in the kitchen in his pyjamas.

"Then I just don't learn." Fred told her with a smile, handing her a plate of food. "I need to get ready for work."

"You didn't need to make me breakfast, I could've done it myself. I do remember where everything is." She objected, fighting back the upwards twitching of the mouth's corner.

"And have you burn the house down? I don't think so." He punctuated the sentence with a laugh, walking quickly out of the room so as to not be pelted with toast and bacon.

It was like they were teenagers again, messing about without a care in the world. In fairness, they didn't when they were laughing together and not thinking of everything going wrong in Riverdale. It gave her some comfort to know that she and Fred were still so close, even after not seeing each other for so long. At least things were getting better with him, even though it was getting worse with Alice and FP.

After finishing her breakfast, Shae remembered about her bag she'd stowed in her bike. After all, she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. She almost sprinted to her bike and back again, this time with her bag, trying her best to avoid seeing Alice. Knowing her for years, Shae knew Alice would start apologising profusely. And she would be, until she did the next thing or got angry at her.

"That bag have different clothes in it?" Fred asked, raising his eyebrows jokingly.

"Yeah, actually." Shae retorted. "Get to work."

"Don't try to cook anything." Fred told her, getting halfway out the door when she started to push the door closed behind him.

Being back in Riverdale, Shae realised how much she had changed while being away. She looked into the same mirror she once had as a teenager, wearing another dark, form fitting outfit. It was when she looked at her eyes and face that she saw her younger self: the girl who hid behind baggy clothes that she stole from her friends, who wanted to pretend she didn't have the figure she did because who would notice it next to Alice?

It was the serpents who brought out this side of her. She became proud of herself, learning to use her baggy clothes for comfort rather than to hide. She didn't have anything to hide anymore, that was her and she wanted people to see who became after finding her real home and real family. And, with no job to go to and nothing to do, those were the people she found herself amongst.

"You learnt your lesson now?" Shae teased a younger serpent, who laid down his pool cue and raised his hands up in surrender. "I may not be the serpent queen anymore, but I'm the queen of this pool table."

"Then long live the queen." He grinned, taking a shot.

The Whyte Wyrm had filled more while she had been there, especially after the youngest serpents, still in high school, had finished school for the day and arrived to unwind after a day at Riverdale High. Yes, she also knew about the serpents' move after Southside High closed. It was one of the strange things she couldn't imagine happening, since that was where the young serpents had a place of their own. But at least nobody could take The Wyrm. With that in mind, she went to the bar for another drink.

"What can I get you?" A young girl with dark skin and pink hair asked, tying her apron around her waist as she presumably started her shift.

"Rum and coke."

As soon as the words left her lips, the teenager turned around to get started. She mixed the drink in what felt like a matter of seconds, turning around again to look at her face properly. The young girl narrowed her eyes slightly in concentration, before her expression relaxed in relaxation.

"You're Shae Lucas." She concluded, making the woman open her mouth in confusion but didn't get a chance to say anything. "Toni Topaz, I'm a friend of Jughead's. He was telling all the serpents he met you, might even start a fan club."

With that, Toni left Shae with a smile on her face as she went to serve another customer. However, her smile dropped when a familiar face sat next to her. Even though FP was officially retired, that didn't stop him from being able to enter the bar. In fact, she would've been stupid to think he wouldn't come in at least once in a while.

"Jughead said you stayed at Fred's last night. If you needed a place to stay, you could've stayed with me." FP told her with a smile.

"You told me about Jason Blossom." She said with a sigh, looking up at him with a blank face. "Why didn't you tell me you slept with Alice?"

FP's smile faltered, mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the words to defend himself. "I didn't think it was a big deal, we'd broken up, it was one night, and it was years ago."

"One week." She told him monotonously. "We'd been broken up for one week, that one night led to a child – your child who's dead now. You can't tell me you didn't know about that yesterday, when we were getting everything out into the open."

He just looked at her, trying to say something but he knew nothing would be good enough. Shae raised an eyebrow at him expectantly, waiting for him to come up with something. But he just looked at fire blazed in her eyes, before walking away from him and out of the bar. And he couldn't go after her, because he had nothing to say, nothing to make her stay. He hid something so big, did something he shouldn't have in a half-hearted to get over his sadness while she was probably being comforted by Fred with thoughts of getting back together.

So, FP sat inside the bar, prepared to drink away his sadness again, for losing one of the few people who mattered again. And outside, Shae hurriedly tucked her phone away and drove back to Fred's house after receiving the call she dreaded. A call that FP would soon receive that would quickly sober him and bring the ex-couple back into the same room.

* * *

"We made a vow in high school." Hermione said, addressing all the adults: friends and enemies alike. "Now that the scout is back safe and sound, we can only assume he'll start talking. Whatever he says may lead back to us. To the secret that they buried all those years ago."

"Why are you bringing this up now?" Fred questioned from where he was stood beside Shae.

"This hasn't been made public, but," Hermione hesitated. "Dilton Doiley and Ben Button were found in the woods with blue lips. Dilton is dead, Ben is in a coma."

"You keep Sheriff Minetta on a short leash, why haven't you called in to make this go away." Sierra McCoy clipped, hiding her fear with her harsh tone.

"I would like to but Jughead found the body, that's the main concern." Hermione said, looking to FP and Alice stood behind his chair.

"We've talking to Jughead and Betty, we tried to make them stop." Alice told her.

"You know our kids, they won't listen." FP said in a deep voice.

"We made a pact never to revisit that night." Tom said, looking around at everyone in the room. "We said we wouldn't mention it, we wouldn't even think about it. My vote is to stick to that."

"Unfortunately, we may not have that luxury." Hermione told him sternly. "Not if it's happening again, not if it's our children. All of our children are in danger."

"Not all." Penelope said, looking at Shae.

"They may not be my children, I may not have met all of them, but I care about the ones I have met." Shae defended. "I want to protect them, whatever it might cost me. Even if that means my life."


	5. Chapter 5

3 weeks since Shae returned. 3 weeks since she last talked to FP and Alice, since the meeting at town hall, since anyone was found with blue lips. Their lives were going back to normal, or what normal was nowadays: avoiding her best friend and trying to get her friend's son out of the detention centre.

"What are you thinking about, Shae?" Tom asked, noticing her blank staring at the TV as the movie played.

"Fred's been gone for a while now." She told him, looking sadly at her old friend. "What if something bad happened to Archie, or to him."

Tom blocked out the sound coming from the Tv, playing in the background as they no longer paid it any attention, wrapping his arms around her and letting her melt into him. That wasn't all of it, they both knew that. In the back of her mind, she was thinking about them. It was hurting her, the loss of someone who had been such a big part of her life even when she was away. But she didn't talk about it, because Fred was hurting in a much more significant way.

"We'll know when he gets here, which he will. He'll be fine, and so will Archie." Tom assured her, rubbing him hand up and down her back. "Now tell me the rest."

"He didn't even apologise, Tom." She said with a heavy voice. "He didn't say anything when we were in The Whyte Wyrm, or after the meeting at town hall. He looked me in the eye and walked right past me, with her."

Tom hesitated, but dared to ask, "Do you still love him?"

"No." She answered quickly. "I don't know if I ever did. Things were great when we were just friends, then we became a couple and kept breaking up all the time."

"I remember, nobody could keep track of you two." Tom laughed. "Except Alice, or sometimes me and Fred when you came to us in tears."

Shae gave a half-hearted laugh. "They never figured out that I knew. But FP would still get mad when me and…"

Tom nodded, understanding exactly what she meant without having to finish. He looked down at her laying in his arms, head comfortably against his chest. "Do you think things could've been different?"

This time, Shae hesitated as she looked up into his eyes. "Maybe, but they aren't.

Suddenly, the TV became very interesting to the pair. The noise drowned out any thoughts about the past, stopping them both from thinking of the 'what if's. In fact, they didn't speak at all, instead engrossing themselves in the movie as they waited for Fred to come back.

When the door finally opened and slammed closed behind Fred, the pair jumped as they looked at the man. He said nothing but sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. Tom got up to get a beer from the basement fridge, knowing that something bad must've happened to provoke that display of anger taken out on his front door. When the man did eventually speak, the former sheriff realised that, sadly, he was right.

* * *

In an attempt to clear her head, especially after hearing Fred was completely isolated from Archie, Shae went for a walk that inevitably led her to Sunnyside trailer park. After what was happening with The Whyte Wyrm, the serpents needed new territory. Which, without a doubt, became the trailer park. Many serpents have or do live there, making it an obvious choice. Their homes couldn't be infiltrated by the likes of Hiram Lodge and the Ghoulies. This also meant that the trailer park was full of serpents, more so than usual since many of them had been in the Whyte Wyrm when it still belonged to them.

"Shae!" Came a shout from a further area of the park, but she was able to pinpoint the pink-haired girl that the voice belonged to.

Toni was waving her over, to where she stood with an unmistakable redhead with a matching red serpent jacket. Cheryl Blossom was sat in the large black leather chair, a sort of throne for one of the most powerful female serpents if what their fellow serpents was anything to go by.

"Well, if it isn't the serpent queens themselves." Shae said, smiling at the young couple.

"Actually," Toni corrected, sitting on the chair with her legs thrown over Cheryl's lap. "I think Betty's the queen. After all, she's the king's girlfriend."

"Trust me, as the former queen, being in a relationship with the serpent queen doesn't mean anything without respect. Until Betty has that, she's not the queen and, as far as I'm concerned, you two are." Shae told them, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly and bringing smiles to the young couple's faces.

"I like you already." Cheryl said, moving her sunglasses from her eyes to rest on top of her head, getting up to stand in front of the older woman and extend her hand. "Cheryl Blossom."

Shae shook the young girl's hand. "Yes, I know who you are. I'm sorry for your loss."

Cheryl's face dropped before asking, "My brother or my father?"

"Your brother, he deserved better. Your father got exactly what came to him, now your brother can rest in peace." This brought a sad smile back to her lips. "Hopefully, being a part of the serpents has helped with everything your family did."

"The serpents are my family now, this is my home." Cheryl gestured to the trailer park, taking both Shae's hands. "Thank you. So few people have been so nice to me when I first met them."

Shae pulled Cheryl into a hug, letting the young girl relax into the embrace. "We're family."

* * *

The trailer park was ideal for the serpents. So many of them already lived there, the ghoulies wouldn't set foot in it, no serpents would get attacked on their way there because they didn't have to cross rival territory. However, there was one major, personal drawback for Shae: FP was one of the serpents who lived there. It pleasantly surprised her to find that she hadn't run into him in the tie she was there, but it was short lived when she noticed him look over at her.

"Fogarty, pass me a bottle." Shae said, not bothering to get up or even look away from her ex. Sure enough, as soon as her fellow serpent fished out the beer from the cooler, she had it against her lips and drank the entire contents before FP even got there.

"We need to talk." He said, towering over her from where he was standing right in front of the chair.

"F, take this." Shae said, handing the now empty bottle to the man stood behind her.

"So bossy, today." He mumbled, but obliged as she got up to have a long-awaited conversation.

As soon as the pair were in FP's trailer and the door was closed, Shae wasted no time in asking, "So, you and Alice?"

"What are you talking about?" The man attempted to feign confusion, but it wasn't convincing enough to fool her. Shae could always tell when he was lying.

"Don't bullshit me, FP." She said, sitting down on the couch and making herself quite at home. "I live with Fred now, I'll see your truck or your bike parked outside Alice's house. You'll stay for hours, leave, then do it again the next day."

"You're paying a lot of attention." FP stated in what was supposed to be a suspicious tone. However, there was absolutely nothing to be suspicious of, making his argument fall short of defence.

"It's been 3 weeks, I happened to notice. That just makes me perceptive, not some jealous ex girlfriend. Because, I don't know if you've not noticed," She said, getting up and close enough to his face that she was able to lower her voice to a harsh whisper. "I don't love you."

It delivered the message clearly, a perfect way for her to leave him there and go back out to her serpent friends. She'd heard enough in his denial to find out what she wanted. Except, he wasn't done talking to her yet.

"Then why are you acting like this with me?" He questioned, making her stop in her tracks before she reached the door. "Why did you get mad at me? Why are you still mad at me?"

She stormed back over to him and hissed, "Because hooking up with her when we were on a break, that's one thing. When we break up for good and you hook up with her, conceive a child and hide it from me, that's another."

FP's eyes went wide, stuck like a deer in headlights as he realised he'd once again been caught. That every time they had a fight and separated, he went to Alice and had flung after fling. In between it all, still trying to have a good relationship with Shae when they got back together. But, it always ended the same way. He would end up in a bed with Alice.

"That's right, I always knew." She told him, spitefully. "Did you really think I was some naïve girl, oblivious that my boyfriend was lusting after another girl while we were together."

"It wasn't like that." FP tried to tell her, but couldn't find another way to make it sound any better than the way she'd put it. It was always going to be bad, no matter how it was said.

"What else was it, falling in love with her?" She asked him incredulously. "Because, you know what, I can't say we were ever in love. I don't know if that was real or not. In fact, I think we shouldn't have dated in the first place. It would've made things a whole lot easier."

FP saw the frustration on her face, taking her hands in his and smoothing over the back with his thumbs. She tensed, but led herself be led to sit with him on the couch, her hands still firmly in his.

"Honestly, I don't know what we had." FP admitted, looking her dead in the eye as he spoke. "We were more than best friends, there wasn't enough there to be a real couple. We forced our relationship sometimes, that's why it didn't work out. But don't say I didn't love you. We had some great times as a couple, we were happier than everyone else when we did."

"And we were angrier and sadder than most people when we got in a fight." Shae reasoned, trying to make her point again.

"That was nothing compared to when you left. I thought me being with Alice had finally driven you away, I was so upset and I missed you more than anything." FP told her, taking her by surprise.

She assumed it was because she wasn't there to stop him drinking that he fell into alcoholism. But she didn't realise it could've been something else, that he really had missed her so much that he had to drink. But still, she couldn't accept a declaration of past love that she knew in her heart, even if he hadn't figured it out yet in his, wasn't real.

"You missed your best friend." Shae told him, in a softer voice than she had spoken to him in only a few minutes ago. "You weren't missing the love of your life, or anything. Because I'm not."

FP nodded, agreeing with her completely. "I am sorry, for messing around with Alice all those times, for doing it again so soon when we broke up, for not telling you about the child I had with her. I regret all of it, I really do and I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." She assured him, "And I think that's all we needed to talk about."

With that, she got up once again, this time with FP following suit and walking her to the door. It wasn't going to be the same as it used to be, but this was a start. Eventually, they could get back to where they used to be, if they gave it the time.

"So, you and-"

"No-one." Shae cut him off. "I don't want a relationship right now and I'm more than happy being single. And I intend to keep it that way."


End file.
